Cloud Nine
by SoulSeeker
Summary: Their only option was to win. UzukiKariya, one shot.


**Title:** Cloud Nine**  
Author:** Amm (SoulSeeker)**  
Written for:** dlbp/tozz**  
Fandom:** The World Ends with You**  
Pairing:** Uzuki Yashiro/Koki Kariya  
**Prompt:** "This city silence / it screams in ways I never dreamed"  
**Wordcount:** 1,282  
**Rating:** K - suitable for everyone

* * *

"_This is boring!_" a familiar voice whined, atop the 104 Building. High-pitched and usually complaining, Kariya had to admit: he knew it all too well.

"What do you mean, _boring?_" he replied to his partner, as the lollipop in his mouth bobbed up and down. He shrugged, laying back a little as his Reaper's wings fanned out behind him. "I'm on cloud nine over here. No missions, no work? I think I like Pi-Face's style already."

Uzuki stared at him with a look that could kill. Her eyes narrowed, and he thought he heard a growl from those pink lips of hers. It was always dangerous to try to talk and reason with her while she was flared up like this. But it was kind of entertaining to try sometimes. Certainly a challenge worth his effort...and the prize? Well... sometimes he got free ramen out of it, he supposed. If he managed to pacify her...

"How can you say that?!" she exclaimed in frustration. Her arms fell to her side as she glared. "I swear, sometimes I wonder how we're even partners! We're like, total opposites!"

Kariya laughed. That much was true: they didn't really have that much in common. She strove for promotions; he rejected them. She was eager to work and earn points; impress the Game Master, the Composer. He wasn't interested. They were so different from each other, he decided, that she was interesting. Much more worth his time than anything he could be doing with the higher-ups. He basically explained this to her in plain words. She never seemed to understand, though.

"Well, if you want work so bad, why don't you take it up with Pi-Face himself, then?"

She scoffed at him, folding her arms.

"Don't be silly. You know I don't know where he is. There hasn't even been a mission today."

"Exactly. So stop _worrying_ about it," Kariya said dismissively in a yawn. "Not like Shades is gonna blame us if the Game Master's gone AWOL. That's not our fault. And we're not even supposed to touch 'em until day seven, anyways."

"I know, I knooooow...don't remind me!"

Uzuki sighed, putting her hands on her head in aggravation. It seemed the anger that flared up inside her before had subsided for now. She was still worked up, clearly, but it wasn't unmanageable. The silence was just getting to her a bit, that was all. The lack of missions, the inability to erase any players; it all screamed in her ear and taunted her in a way she couldn't believe. It made her want to scream. Even the pretty view from atop 104 couldn't make her feel any better.

"...huh?"

Kariya had shut his eyes, after noticing that she had calmed down. But he opened them again when he heard her voice. He could see her at the edge, peering out to the endless sky, and she seemed to have spotted something.

"What is it?" he asked, unable to hide the curiosity in his voice.

There was a pause. She was focused on that one spot, and refused to look away from it; but her interest faded after a while and she turned to face him. She still looked pretty perturbed, as she walked towards him and murmured: "No, nothing...I just, um...thought I saw something kind of weird."

A serious look came over Kariya's face now as he flew over to her. He could feel something now. And it wasn't just _kind of weird_. It was something that was just plain unnatural. Something that shouldn't have existed. It was a strange feeling he couldn't explain; but it was strong, and he was surprised Uzuki couldn't sense it. Or maybe she could—and just didn't want to face it.

Either way, they wouldn't be able to ignore it for long. He could see it now, forming in the distance. A small black cloud, that was now growing larger and larger. He lowered his glasses a little and put a hand on her shoulder, to keep her from walking any farther back. He was pointing with the finger on his other hand.

"Is that what you saw?"

Suddenly the cloud had taken on a formation that they both recognized. A formation they were both quite familiar with. And they both fell to defensive positions instinctively, as the black symbol floated towards them. Uzuki's eyes widened, upon the realization of what it was.

"Taboo Noise?!"

"Watch out!"

Kariya could hear the creature's attack coming, which was the only reason he was able to quickly push Uzuki out of the way...and ultimately off the 104 Building all together. She had turned her attention away for that brief moment—just a brief moment—and the Neoclassical drake had emerged from the Taboo Noise symbol, ready to wreak havoc. They were both falling now—he was holding onto Uzuki tightly, and he could smell her hair, as it violently brushed against his cheek from all the wind that was making it fly up. She couldn't help but scream a little, frightened, as they both attempted to expand their wings.

They had fallen, though, for quite some time, before the wings would work at all. Maybe it was the panic of the situation, or maybe it was the fact that the Reapers' wings weren't really meant for extremely rigorous flight—but they didn't work as well as they had hoped. And they found themselves fumbling onto the ground below the building, with hundreds of shopping RGers walking past them.

They stopped dead, panting heavily as they stared at each other, their faces mere inch or two apart. Uzuki had landed on top of him; he had attempted to soften her fall, and it looked like it worked. She climbed off him quickly, her face turning a just little pink to match her lipstick, and they both stood up—knowing that they weren't safe yet.

"Looks like cloud nine will have to wait," Kariya murmured in a playful laugh. He was still breathing heavily, and dirt had gotten on his face. His lollipop had completely fallen out of his mouth, and had probably shattered to pieces. He turned to Uzuki. "You still with me?"

"I'm okay," she sputtered, wiping her forehead a little. "Who the _heck_ could've summoned this guy? Talk about rule-breaking. And these wings—seriously—"

"At least we made it. But I don't think it's done with us yet. There's a reason these things are illegal..."

"Yeah, like no kidding! Here it comes!"

Kariya nodded, seeming unsurprised as he looked up at the Neoclassical drake that was now descending rapidly upon them from the sky. It looked threatening, flapping its wings; its eyes glowed red, and it seemed that its target was set. It was coming after them, and they couldn't run. Their only option was to win.

_Fail and face erasure._

"Ready?" Kariya stood up and offered her a hand, looking quite gentlemanly as he did so. And Uzuki took it willingly, with a wide smirk on her face.

This was it, she realized: her big chance. She was going to find out who had summoned this Taboo Noise, and any others that came with it. No matter the risk and no matter the cost. She was going to get her promotion after all.

"Whenever you are."

And with a flash of purple light, they both seemed to disappear into thin air. They could no longer see each other from their separate realms, but they knew they had never been closer. Facing the same creature, sharing the same health, relying on one another as partners...they were essentially players at the moment, and Kariya couldn't help but smirk at the irony.

"Just don't drop the light puck this time."

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_**A/N: **Yaaaaaaaaaayy, my first TWEWY fanfic ever. Written at the request of dlbp, aka tozz. I hope you all enjoyed it. Uzuki and Kariya don't get enough love, so I'm glad I got to write for them. :D I thought it was really cool they got their own light puck and fusion, so yeah. Definitely awesome bosses. _

_Thanks for reading :)_


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